TV Show Pulls Off Cruel Prank On 13-Year-Old Who Thought She'd Reunite With Her Mum
Entertainment done in bad taste.
By Darian Goh — 13 May 2015, 03:21 PM
This is Autumn Allen, a 13-year-old singer currently living in Cambodia
She appeared on popular Cambodia show "Penh Chet Ort" (Like It or Not) for a special Mother's Day show
During her segment, the hosts tells her that she would meet her mom, a person Autumn has not seen in over a decade
Autumn teared up. Her mum was in the US when she moved to Cambodia with her dad. "She held me and kissed me and told me that she would always love me."
Autumn, a singer who has performed on television several times before, was invited onto a special Mother’s Day edition of the MyTV variety show Penh Chet Ort (Like It or Not) and told her “dream to meet her mother would come true”. Wiping away tears, Autumn told the presenters of her only memories of her mother, who stayed in the US when Autumn was brought to Cambodia by her father. “She held me and kissed me and told me that she would always love me,” she said.
The hosts then called out Autumn's "mom", who turned out to be local comedian Chuop Rolin, known for his cross-dressing antics
But after a drawn-out build-up, it was cross-dressing comedian and Penh Chet Ort judge Chuop Rolin that emerged from backstage instead of the young singer’s mother.
“What are you thinking, did you think it was real?” one of the presenters then asked the girl.
“What are you thinking, did you think it was real?” one of the presenters then asked the girl. “I don’t know,” Autumn replied, giggling.
After the show, people took to social media to criticise the show's producers for the cheap stunt. Virak OU, an independent political analyst in the country condemned it as "stupid and brainless".
On Monday, Autumn responded graciously to the incident and thanked her fans for their support
However, Autumn, who sings in Khmer, English, Chinese and French, has apparently taken the prank with good humour. “On that day I was very excited because I thought [my mother] was actually coming,” she told the Post yesterday. “At the moment I was sad that I could not see my real mother, but I had fun doing the show. “Initially I was disappointed, but Rolin made me laugh so I had fun on the show.
Autumn then received a letter of apology from the show's producers. The producers went on record to say that they "wanted to send Allen a message that although she has no mother, the team loves her as family".
Penh Chet Ort producer Taboi said the stunt was a “mistake” and he would make a public apology. “We produced that program to make Allen and other people happy. We wanted to send Allen a message that although she has no mother, our team loves her as family so that we play with her to make her smile,” he said.
The 13-year-old singer, full of composure as she was gracious, asked the public to forgive the show's producers as she had already forgiven them.
Autumn still hopes that she will meet her mom someday
“My dad was very proud of how I handled myself in the situation. He took me to a nice restaurant afterward.” Autumn, who is still in school, said she had been raised by her father and came to Cambodia when she was 6 years old. “I tried to contact my mother several times when we moved to Cambodia but she kept changing her phone numbers. “My dad thinks she lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, but we don’t know for sure. “Yes, I miss her and do want to meet her.”